The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 6 by Heather Ray (free ebook reader TXT) 📖

have it..."

Goldar's fearful admission was answered by a stony silence. Micah could have sworn he heard the clamoring of Goldar's metallic armor.

Goldar shaking with fright? That was an image Micah wished he were able to see. But all he could make out were two shadowy forms several yards away, in the dark distance.

"I simply wanted the arrowhead," the voice stated, "and instead you bring me to utterly useless individuals. You're not making a good impression, Goldar. Your service to me is entirely contingent on you completing your mission successfully."

"Wh...what should I do, oh Lord?" Goldar inquired.

"Make some use of these captives. Use this, and get whatever information you can from them: about the Crystal, the arrowhead, and these mysterious foreign Power Rangers. And anything else they are 'willing'

to divulge."

There were the sounds of steps echoing in the chamber, growing dimmer as the individual moved further away. "Do not fail me."

Suddenly, as instantly as they were doused, the three torches sprang to life, blanketing the dank chamber with pulsing, radiant heat and light.

Micah saw Goldar, paused on one knee, looking around the room in confusion. He gasped when he saw what the strange Lord had given him.

A tethered whip. The black leather hung from the creature's large claw, swaying slightly in the breeze.

And impossibly, two leather chords hung from the low ceiling, and two more sprouted from the floor directly beneath. Micah was certain they weren't there earlier.

Goldar turned to the young Ranger, and grinned coldly.

"I'm sure you can see where this is going, Boy," he said, rising to his feet. Micah stepped back automatically as Goldar reached the cage, and unlocked the door.

"N..no!"

David uttered weakly, his voice hoarse from the damage done to his throat. He tried to get up, and offered whatever protest he could as Goldar grabbed the boy as easily as a doll. The large warrior pushed David back, knocking the teenager against the back wall of the cell, and dragged the Green Ranger, who was struggling with all his might, to the leather chords.

"Hang around for awhile," Goldar quipped, tightly knotting the hanging chords onto Micah's wrists. He then returned to the cell, and locked the door to insure the stunned captive didn't escape. Once that was done, he returned his attention to Micah, and forced the boy's squirming legs into the two leather straps meant to hold his ankles.

"Now here's the game we're going to play," Goldar uttered, a smug grin on his feral face as he hung the leather chord over his shoulder, "I'm going to ask you a question. If you answer it correctly, you won't get lashed. If you answer incorrectly, you get lashed. Understand?"

"You don't scare me, Goldar!" Micah declared defiantly. The creature's sinister smile only deepened.

"Don't forget, my strength easily eclipses that of any human being," Goldar pointed out, holding the whip between both hands. "You'd do best to keep that in mind."

Goldar began circling the helpless boy like a predator. He stopped behind the boy, and gave him a little push to make him swing.

"Okay, question one: what's your name?

"

"Go to hell."

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," Goldar sighed with false disappointment. Glee flashed in his marble eyes as he drew the whip over his shoulder, and sent it flying through the air. The whip slashed into Micah's back, ripping through the cotton material of his shirt, and drawing blood. The boy clenched his teeth, and tears sprang to his dark eyes, instantly overflowing the space and pouring down his flushed cheeks.

"That was only one lash," Goldar reminded him, "and I wasn't even putting any effort into it. I will continue to whip you, until your tongue loosens."

Micah didn't respond. He was too terrified and shocked to say anything. The searing pain in his back was like nothing he'd ever experienced before, and he didn't know how to react. He knew that he couldn't stand much more of this pain, but he also knew he couldn't betray the other Power Rangers.

Goldar waited for a few seconds, but Micah made no reply. "Fine," he muttered, "I'm going to enjoy this. It's been a while since I've tortured someone. I wonder how long a human boy can last."

The monster once again pulled back his whip, and let it cut through the air, and deep into Micah's skin. This time, a pained scream escaped Micah's lips, and hot tears poured down his burning cheeks in rivers of tangible agony. David, who had tried to look away from the horrid display, now leaped to his feet, and grabbed the bars.

"Leave him alone!" David roared. "He's just a kid!"

"Don't feel too badly for the boy," Goldar commented, pausing his deed to cast a powerful gaze at the human. "You're next."

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Well," said Tommy, "did you find any trace of David and Micah?"

"Negative," Billy answered. "Whatever cloaking spell Goldar utilized when he kidnapped Micah and David, it was quite effective. He disappeared from our scanners after he vanished from Rebecca, and when he reappeared, his presence didn't set off any alarms that usually sound when an identified evil presence is detected. Also, he managed to disrupt the regular video scan I had implemented since the fight erupted, so we weren't alerted to his presence in time to send out help. I must admit, Goldar was quite clever this time."

"Or whoever send him," Rocky uttered, his arms folded tightly. Kimberly blinked, and gazed at the former Red Ranger for a moment.

"What are you suggesting, Rocky?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "It's just...if Zedd and Rita could've created this kind of cloak before, why didn't they? You know what kind of advantage they'd have?"

"True," Katherine interjected.

"And it's true that things have been pretty weird lately," Jason continued, "Zedd didn't even bother to try to make those Dreadkin monsters grow. He sent down five creatures to deal with at once! Surely if he made them grow, we'd be really hard pressed to keep them under control."

While the Terran Rangers continued their reasoning regarding Lord Zedd and Rita's bizarre tactics of late, the Starlight Rangers listened in with interest. It was quite a sight watching their famous parents engage in one of the "idea pools" Will Mitchell had sometimes mentioned. And considering that these Rangers were in fact no older than the Starlight team, it was quite sobering to see how much maturing they'd have to do before they could serve in their station to the fullest.

But while Brittany, Anthony, and Regina were enraptured by the discussion, Rebecca's thoughts were elsewhere. She had set her rose helmet to the side, and sat upon the floor cross-legged. Her dark eyes were gently shut, and her hands rested on her elbows, on top of which she propped her head.

While the Terran Rangers' computers were busy conducting various energy scans, Rebecca had opted for another approach.

She decided to scan for neural energy patterns that were familiar to her.

It was surely broad in scope, but hopefully by signaling out only familiar thought patterns, she would resign her search to only locate the very few people in this dimension who would be familiar to her. Fortunately, an individual's thought patterns do change slightly over time, so the Terran Rangers' minds didn't really register as very familiar. Only passingly so.

Of course, she wasn't a strong enough telepath, or empath, for that matter, to do a very cohesive scan. She certainly couldn't extend her search to the moon, which was the most likely location of their missing comrades. But something in the back of her mind tickled her consciousness. As if she could just about sense Micah's thoughts. Or at least, his feelings.

That's why she decided to focus her entire attention to the search. There is always the possibility that, whoever the captor may be, he or she wouldn't know about the Pink Starlight Ranger's empathic powers. Perhaps there wasn't some kind of psionic shield constructed, preventing her broadening mind's eye from entering.

It wasn't likely...but it was certainly worth a try.

She extended her scan, which was formatted in concentric circles spreading from her very location, to the next ring of distance. That's when it hit her.

"Ah!" she cried suddenly, her muscles contracting instinctively. Her concentration quickly evaporated, and the stunned girl collapsed onto the floor.

Her cry of distress quickly brought the entire assembly of Rangers to her side.

"What happened, Beck?" Brittany asked, gently helping the Pink Ranger sit up.

Rebecca moaned slightly, her hand trailing to her stomach. To her surprise, tears had sprung to her eyes as a response to the sharp pain she had empathically experienced.

"Oh God," she whispered, shuddering slightly. Her lip trembled as the realization struck her.

Regina's dark gaze was entirely focused on Rebecca's facial expression. She had an inkling as to what the Pink Ranger had occupied her time doing, but she needed confirmation.

"Did you find Micah empathically, Rebecca?" she asked.

Rebecca nodded, still stunned. "I...I was scanning the area in concentric circles, and as soon as I broadened my scan one notch, I felt this...intense pain across my stomach."

She absently traced a line on her stomach, moving vertically across her body.

Anthony's bright eyes widened. "What does that mean? What's happening to Micah?"

"I...I don't know. I'm primarily an empath, so I sensed his pain more so than his thoughts. All I registered was this intense pain, before my concentration broke. I was startled..."

"It's all right, Rebecca," Billy said quietly, moving through the dense group and taking Rebecca's trembling hand. "You've found Micah, and it's safe to assume that David is nearby. I can take it from here."

Billy led the girl towards the main computer terminal, where he urged her to take a seat. He then leaned over her, and pressed several keys on the pad. In a flash of light, an aerial map of the area appeared on the gargantuan screen.

"Okay," Billy said, lying his hand on the distraught Ranger's shoulder to help calm her, "you said you were searching in concentric circles. Was this the central point?"

Rebecca nodded.

"Terrific," Billy uttered, pressing another key. A red dot appeared atop a cliff, which indicated their present location.

"Can you tell me about how large each circle was? I'm sure you used a systematic approach to your empathic scan."

Rebecca nodded. "It's the best way to regulate the scan," she said quietly, her shoulder's slumped slightly. "Each circle was about a quarter mile wide."

Billy nodded, typing in new commands. A dartboard design of red light appeared on the screen, expanding out from the CAC.

"And finally, which circle